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GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat
The Sienar Fleet Systems GAT-12 Skipray Blastboat, while small enough to be carried aboard capital ships as a starfighter, is sometimes classified by some registries as a capital ship itself thanks to its immense power output, weaponry, and shielding. The Skipray Blastboat has a standard crew consisting of a pilot, copilot/sensor operator, and two gunnery officers; however, the ship can also be piloted by just one person. It has a class two hyperdrive, a limited nav computer capable of storing four jump coordinates, and is stocked with sufficient consumables for a month of independent operation. The short wings on the side of the cockpit house two sensor pylons. Two forward-swept stabilizer fins branch out from a rotating assembly at the aft of the ship, which are tipped with two ion cannons. The stabilizers are kept vertically in flight, with the ion cannons deployed above and below the rest of the ship; the fins rotate horizontally for landing, putting them on either side of the ship in a more traditional winged configuration. A third ion cannon is housed in the nose of the ship, with a concussion missile launcher and proton torpedo tube flanking it starboard and port, respectively (the GAT-12g has a tractor beam instead of a missile launcher). On the dorsal fuselage, a fire-linked pair of laser cannons are mounted in a turret. While designed as a space-faring vessel, the ship actually performs better in atmospheric flight, with a top speed of 1,200 kph; and its aerodynamic frame provides a better atmospheric maneuvering performance than all but high-performance airspeeders. Its maneuvering performance is not as remarkable out of the atmosphere, and the ship often relies on swift first-strikes or coordination with other ships in space combat. Aside from the most popular variant, the GAT-12h/i, several other models were produced, including the original GAT-12g (which uses a tractor beam instead of a concussion missile tube), the GAT-12j (which more evenly distributes gunnery duties between gunners than the GAT-12h/i), the GAT-12m (which has better realspace and hyperspace performance, and is used as an interceptor and courier), and the GAT-12p (which has an upgraded sensor suite). =History= Republic Sienar Systems designed the ship prior to the Clone Wars. Its design was based on the ''Turbostorm''-class Gunship. It was later sold primarily to the Empire; however, the Navy's tactical philosophy wasn't open to the idea of a hyperspace-capable capital-starfighter hybrid, and all but snubbed the ship. This led SFS to sell the ship on the open market. Those Imperial fleets that received Skiprays praised the ship, but the Skipray Blastboat ultimately gained its fame and reputation as a staple of corporate, mercenary, pirate, and smuggler fleets. By the early Galactic Civil War, the Skipray Blastboat was the smallest hyperspace-capable starship in use by the Imperial Navy. It remained a favored ship by those in the Empire who saw its usefulness and would continue to have a presence with the government up to the present day. =Sources= *Wookieepedia Category:Small CraftCategory:BombersCategory:Scout ShipsCategory:Assault ShipsCategory:GunboatsCategory:Imperial Ships